U-boat Commands

At the outbreak of war Graf von Toppolczan was an adjutant at Gotenhafen Naval HQ, and in 1940 he left the staff at the Coastal Artillery detachment there to serve on the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. He joined the Ubootwaffe (U-boat arm) in March 1943, commissioned U-482 in December, and died with the rest of her crew when she was sunk by depth charges in Nov 1944.

A younger brother of Kptlt. Graf von Toppolczan's died on active service in 1943. He was an Oberst (Group Captain) in the Luftwaffe when lost in action. Another brother survived the war and reached an advanced age.

About ranks and decorationsRanks shown in italics are our database inserts based on the rank dates of his crew comrades. The officers of each crew would normally have progressed through the lower ranks at the same rate.